Motorists travelling to Limpopo advised to use alternative routes

A truck carrying cement collided with at least 20 cars between the Rigel and Atterbury off-ramps during the early hours of this morning, 9 April 2009.

“Motorists are advised to use the R21 and R101 roads as alternatives because the clean-up operations could take up to 24 hours,” said Tshwane Community Safety Department Spokesperson Console Tleane.

Tleane said there were no deaths reported however some people were rushed to hospital for minor injuries.

“No fatality was reported and only five people who sustained minor injuries were taken to hospital,” Tleane said.

The cause of accident, he said, is not yet known.

He urged motorists to drive carefully on the alternative routes as traffic will increase throughout the day.

“Because of the expected build-ups on the alternative routes we urge all motorists to drive with care and be extremely patient,” Tleane said.

On Wednesday the Tshwane Metropolitan launched their Arrive Alive Road Safety campaign to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

The Tshwane Community Safety Department has put together a comprehensive strategy to deal with the expected increases in traffic flow.

Tleane said high visibility and effective law enforcement would ensure there were no major accidents on the roads as well as a helicopter which will assist in vehicle counts, monitoring accidents and all criminal activities.

A Roadside Traffic Camp, with a Joint Operations Centre, had been established at the Wallmannsthal Interchange to reduce response time to major incidents and accidents consisting of all the relevant role players.

As part of the Arrive Alive campaign, drivers will be stopped and inspected for vehicle and driver fitness, tested for drinking and driving and other road traffic offences such as overloading.

Regular visits will be made by police to taverns and shebeens searching for all illegal activities, licenses, noise and to minimise petty crimes.

The city's ambulance services, Fire Brigade and Disaster Management personnel will also be on standby to assist in the event of accidents and other occurrences.

Throughout the Easter weekend, Metro police officers countrywide will hold various road blocks and be actively patrolling the streets.

Article published courtesy of BuaNews